[Yakboy]

Has anybody got any experience of the above. There is one scene in the Italian job (Mini's go up onto the Palavela , the Turin Ice rink roof) , that however way I've tried is going to be impossible to replicate with the faller track, so I was considering if it could be done by routing, absolutely no idea how to achieve this, so thought I would seek advice.

[woodcote]

If you're going to replicate the vertical rails it's quite an advanced skill. This is what you're looking at...

   

That's three slots per lane, with excellent accuracy required in terms of distance of the rail pockets from the guide slot all the way round and a consistent rail pocket depth. Otherwise your cars' pick-ups will lose contact with the rail and stop.

And then there's choosing your rail material - ideally something that can transition from the standard HO track to your routed section and back again. It's easier to produce a 100% routed track using something easy like round rebar (tying) wire, than to replicate actual HO track. Using expanded closed-cell PVC board (eg Foamex, Sintra etc) is easier to route than mdf or plywood - you can do it with a Dremel and appropriate plunge routing guide and 1.6mm straight routing bit. Both me and Gareth have the kit and materials to route HO dragstrips from Sintra and tying wire... just neither of us have done it yet.

Because you're not providing a pro-racing environment for ultra-picky pro-racers, then you could get away with something more basic. Probably the easiest would be routing the guide slot and then using adhesive copper tape at the correct distance either side (you'd need to add braid to your cars' pick-ups) or glue a tinned copper braid to the track surface. The latter would give you a little height (about 1mm) for the cars' pick-ups to work. Both would mean zero magnatraction - which might make it interesting... or impossible to drive.

There are some tutorials on YouTube for both traditional HO routed tracks and copper tape versions.

[KensRedZed]

Andy.

Thank you very kindly for that information.

Getting 20-feet of MS straight track sounds a bit challenging in Canada. I was wondering if a drag-race test track could be routed with tape? You just answered my question. Being for drag-racing, it should be as easy as a straight line.

The only question, since I only know AFX track rails. Where does the MS rail sit in relation to the track surface? Level, or 0.5mm above it?

Thank you very kindly in advance,
Ken

[Scuderia_Turini]

Hello Simon, The first time I made a wooden track, I used a jig-saw and cut the wood panels into pieces that I then joined up with strips of wood underneath. The coper tape was glued on top of the surface and that worked quite well but no magnatraction as Andy has mentioned.
Second time I used a router but found it difficult to control when the torque kicked in at start-up. That was a few years ago and for my next track I went back to plastic. However, Luf <Old SLot Racer> started to sell routing kits which included a lexan plastic strip with holes in it it to act as a guide - the strip is laid in place then nails pressed through the holes to hold it in place. Have never used that kit but it sounds essential.  Greg Gaub (MrFlippant on here) now sells these kits although from Seattle area. Greg is super-helpful so if you mock up a sketch of what you think is required, he can probably offer guidance (see what I did there? LOL)

Leo

Edit:  Below are links to the related movie scene and Greg's kit site:

http://scuderiaturini.altervista.org/wp-..._2.mp4?_=1

Greg's Kit - https://www.ggaub.com/slots/wood.shtml

[JasonB]

Just wondering why it's impossible to do this with the Faller track?

The ramp up to the roof looks simple enough, as it's straight. After that the track would obviously have to be set into the roof, but the three paths are all straight and level, even though they are on a curved roof. I guess the difficult part is getting the turn offs right, but perhaps with a bit of track cutting it might be possible. 

To be honest, it's not going to be easy making a track on a curved roof surface however you do it, and I've no idea how you make a single track ramp, divide up into three separate lanes, but you've done wonderfully well so far, so I'm sure you'll find a way.

[Yakboy]

Just wondering why it's impossible to do this with the Faller track?

Jason,
It's the fact that you need 2 rails to get onto the roof and 2 to get off, so the ramp would be very wide, also the curve of the roof is going to be a nightmare, I have Faller flexible track but it's not that flexible, so thought I'd explore other options.
I am used to working in foamex and like the idea of the dremel router, so may have to have a go at a straight piece as a test